This year, one kilogram of cucumbers sells for a price that is by 2-4 lei higher than last year, and by autumn the price is expected to be as high as 20 lei. The farmers blame the rising prices on a harvest yields that has halved compared to the last few years.

Mihai Paciu, president of the Association of Vegetable Growers, has told IPN the scorching temperatures coupled with a lack of moisture are to blame. Cucumbers normally absorb moisture from the air through their leaves, but considering the enduring period with no rain, the crop simply succumbed. Pests are a further factor. Pesticides have grown more expensive, with some of them being as pricey as 3,000 lei a kilo, and many farmers can't afford them, says Mihai Paciu.

Yields are especially low in the north of the country, where most farmers grow cucumbers in open fields, meaning the produce is exposed to see-sawing extraordinary hot temperatures during the day and low temperatures during the night.

Whereas last year one kilo of cucumbers came with a price tag of 7-8 lei, this year they sell for 9-12 lei.

The produce from the second harvest will be more expensive than this, because the amount of sun they get is decreasing and so are the yields. While last year second-harvest cucumbers had a price tag ranging from 11 to 14 lei a kilo, this year they will likely sell as high as for 20 lei, predicts Mihai Paciu.

As concerns tomato yields, Mihai Paciu says these are too affected by the hot and dry weather, but there is enough produce to meet the domestic demand and so the price isn't likely to differ very much from last year.